


A Peppermint Nightmare

by HobbitsInBrowncoats



Category: The Mighty Boosh (TV)
Genre: Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Howard Whump, Hurt/Comfort, I cant believe these are actual tags, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Mother Hen Vince, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sleep Deprivation, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-10-27 22:34:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10818138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HobbitsInBrowncoats/pseuds/HobbitsInBrowncoats
Summary: Despite his insistent claims that he was "perfectly fine!", Howard Moon has got some emotional baggage rearing it's ugly head. Luckily, this time he's got his futuristic prostitute to take over the reigns.Set after "It's all about context".





	1. Chapter 1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

It started out with the nightmares. Well, just bad dreams really, No...No they were nightmares. And yes,It had been years since his encounter with Old Gregg in that godforsaken lake, but lately his nightmares had been growing with alarming frequency. He couldn't think what had set it off, things had been going so well for him for the first time in his beige colored life. He and Vince were stronger together, Better together, He felt safe. And though he would rarely admit it, he actually felt loved. Of course he did always sleep better when Vince was curled round him like a viper. But it couldn't just be because Vince had gone away for a fortnight to follow that Gary Numan tour halfway around the UK....And that it was the first time he and Vince had spent a night apart in almost a year..No, Howard was being silly. It couldn't be that, that brought this on... It couldn't be. Or maybe it could.

 

In the darkness of Old Greggs cave, Howard heard his name.

 

"Oi, 'oward,"

"Oward! See? I told you didn' I? he's completely out of it. "

 

~But, what are Naboo and Bollo doing here? has Gregg gotten them too?~

 

"How Harold not drowning with face in bowl of coco puffs and milk like that?"

"Cause he's too exhausted to care. I told the ballbag to get some rest, but 'es been strung tight and bothered since Vince left."

 

~Wait-Vince is gone?? Gregg's gonna be back any moment and now,where is Vince!?!-Oh wait, he's, gone to Gary Numan....How did I forget that. I must be loosing my mind down here what with-wait-coco puffs?? This doesn't feel real~

 

"Bollo hear jazz man scream again last night... I don't like it"

"What? don' tell me you're worried bout em? I might pass out from the shock"

"No!!!! ....... Bollo just tired of caterwauling when trying to dream of Kylie Minogue....Thats all" 

"...Mhhm. sure. Cmon help me get the idiot to bed, he can't stay down 'ere he'll scare the customer away. Lets just try to get 'im up gentle like"

 

~Hold up a minute sir- I think I'm still at the shop, I'm still dreaming, But am I back with Gregg??, No,no not with Gregg. It's just another dream.. I don't remember falling asleep... wait why am I still asleep?~

 

"Bollo know what to do, : HARVEY!!!!!"

 

Howard jerked out his cereal bowl with a strangled cry, subsequently pelting Bollo with flying coco puffs.

"Nooo!"

Naboo moved forward and tried to put himself in Howard's eyeline "Woah, easy ya idiot! it's jus' me an' Bollo. You're in the shop, remember?"

With the dawning realization of what had just transpired, Howard tried to control his gasps for air.

"Oh, shop...yeah. it's alright Naboo, I can take it from here." he suddenly noticed a pair of small shamanic hands had seemingly appeared on his shoulders. Grounding him while their owner searched his face.

Taking note of the alarmingly dark circles around his tiny eyes, and overal sunken looking features, Naboo tried to keep his voice gentle. " 'Oward, you don't look so good ballbag.. Whens the last time you actually slept eh? since before Vince left, am I right?'

 

Composing himself in record time, Howard dryly replied : "Well thanks for the lovely complement Naboo. But I'm perfectly fine..Picture of health."

 

"Harry look like Morticia Adams with bad hair."

 

"Oh, thanks Bollo, thanks for that." Howard glared,signed and ran his hand through his chestnut hair- in that order. Noticing the cereal milk that was drying on his puce colored jumper, he found an excuse to escape from the questioning eyes he was surrounded by. "I'm gonna go take a shower. Mind the store yeah?"

"Woah, hold on there 'Oward, this can't keep goin' on, you're gonna kill yourself!" Naboo reached for Howard's arm, Howard jumped a meter.

 

"Don't touch me!!" Taking a breath and nervously pulling at his jumper Howard addressed the floor. "Sorry, Naboo... I'm just a bit-under-caffeinated at the moment."

Naboo immediately put his hands in the air. " A'wight, a'wight, Sorry. S'okay mate, yo're a'wight, just need to get some sleep, yeah? lets get you upstairs and-"

"No! no sleep, I'm not even tired anymore." Howard body betrayed him as he swayed and stumbled towards the stairs. "I'm, I'm alright now, I......just need some coffee, need to get clean, I'll be 100%. Really. Thanks for the concern sir, but I'm good for sleep." 

Naboo and Bollo stepped very slowly towards their swaying, sleep deprived shopkeeper.

"'Oward, don' be stupid. You haven't slept more than a few hours together since Vince left, you're not okay!"

Howards glassy eyes darted crazily from Bollo to Naboo as he was effectively corralled.

"I HAVE slept! thank you very much! I don't need as much sleep as normal people, I'm an artist I'll sleep when I'm dead!" 

"You keep this up much longer and you'll BE dead, ya stuborn ballbag!!! Just go to sleep!!!!" 

"I can't!!!." whether Howard looked ready to cry or scream from exhaustion, was debatable. "Every-time I close my eyes, I'm back in that place, and, and he's there and-I'm alone, with him, and I can't go back there, I can't!!!"

Naboo sighed "Howard, you can talk to us, yeah? I know we take the piss out of ya from time to time, but you can let us know whats wrong. Tell us what ya need?" 

Looking more like a walking corps as he fought back tears and shuffled foot to foot, Howard softly breathed : ".. I need Vince..."

 

jumping as the bell of the shop door rang, The trio turned to see, .a suitcase, and shopping bags coming through?

 

A smiling Vince emerged behind the mountain of bags he was carrying. " 'Ello you numptys! did ya miss me?"


	2. Is This Just Fantasy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is what I've been toying with so far. I know where I want this to end up, I'm a bit blocked on how to get there. -_- .   
> (I'm sure I'll be heavily editing these chapters soon, so don't look at them too closely-they're not fully dressed yet.
> 
> Please leave any suggestions on where to head this, in the comments my loves! :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You could cut the strange tension with a knife.   
Peering through his orange tinted sunglasses, Vince took in the sight before him.

Bollo, positioned in front of the staircase, seemingly pleased as punch to see his precious Vince. Meanwhile Naboo, stood with a look of strained patience and a hand placed on Howard's shoulder-and Howard, Howard seemed to be fidgeting and staring intently at the rug on the floor....?..

Puzzled, Vince staggered a few steps before starting to unceremoniously drop his acutremonts onto a nearby display table.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alright then, whats the joke? oh-oh! we doin' the mannequin challenge?" 

Naboo sighed heavily, and attempted to manouver Howard in Vince's general Direction "No you nob, we're not doin' the bloody mannequin challenge-we're doin' your job, now come sort your bloke out." 

"huh? What do you mea-"

Vince removed his sunglasses and closed the gap between himself and his seemingly out of character Northerner.

Howards eyes were angrily fixed on the cage containing Vince's glam Hamsters, or "Glamsters" as Vince insisted on calling them. (They were deliberately mocking Howard, he was sure of it.) while his rather uncoordinated musicians hands fumbled about with his jumper. he mumbled "..Vince I, I thought you weren't coming back for another week,"

"I call him, ya tit. 4 days ago actually, what took ya so bleeding long!?"

 

"A'wight Naboo, no need to be so touchy! I was gonna phone but while we were in a club in Birmingham, some mental bloke dressed like a magician, grabbed it outta my hand, called me a pudding brain-and ran into one of those old police boxes! it was genious-......'

 

Seeing what all the fuss was about, Vince finally took in Howard's Deeply shadowed eyes, seriously trembling hands, and overall gauntness of someone dabbling in anorexia and/or drugs . The panic hit. 

 

Vince's hands gently glided all over his best friend as if they could somehow assess the damage and make a diagnosis, Vince confusion turned to a semi stunned state. Howard was perfectly fine when he left. "Jesus bloody christ, Howard, whats happened?' 

Unsuccessful in his attempts to bat Vince's hands away, Howard slowly shook his head. "Whaaa? pssh. nothing, nothing. I'm fine. peeeerectly fine." 

Vince gave an unconvinced smile. "Yeah love, you know I'd believe you if ya weren't slurring like a drunk, right?. And to put it as nicely as I can, ya look like shite. Naboo whats gone on? is he ill?"

"Mentally? yes. Jazz freak coconut is well cracked."

"Shut up Bollo, 'e wasn't askin' you . I'm a shamen not a doctor Vince, but anyone wiv' half a quids worth of common sense could tell ya it aint exactly healthy to keep yourself awake for the better part of two weeks."

"Wait, Are you sayin' he's been all Nosferatu since I left???" Howard's glassy eyes darting anywhere but Vince's face. ( He was really gonna have to get some furniture for the shop that didn't dance around like this.) , Vince tone softened as he redirected his questions to the jelly-legged mass that was Howard. " Seriously though, whats going on?" 

"I told you Vince- I'm fiiiine,"

"Ballbag Henry is liar." Bollo was met with what was meant to be a glare, but in actuality bared more of a resemblance to a 6ft tall, overtired toddler.

Howard seemed to focus for a moment before realizing what the original question even was.   
"I just,.. I'm having a bit of trouble sleeping, it's not a big deal," 

Bollo grunted. "Understatement of the year. Hugo spends more time screaming than sleeping."

"I DO NOT!!" Howard's legs turned to licorish whips again, as he tilted dangerously close to the table containing stationary village, despite the concrete hold on his shoulders.

"Oookay Bollo, thats not helpin', you're jus' gettin' him more wound up! Outside. Go! go on, we're goin' to the onion. start the carpet, yeh? ." Naboo pushed his familiar past Vince's discarded luggage and through the front door. 

Now Vince was throughly confused. "Naboo! what the hell?!" 

Turning to Vince before leaving. "Look, he'll be alwight Vince. He's got what he needs now, just make him sleep, an' sort him out- and Vince, you WILL sort this out. I mean it. Don't you go wanderin' off anywhere." Naboo fixed him with a warning glare.

 

"Wait, whats he need?!" The shop door shutting was the only response ." A finger appeared on Vince's lips. "Shhhhhh. Nooo! I do not, thankyouverymuch.. I sleep, Jus cause ...Baboo an Nallo, start talking rubbish- and the shop keeps twirling,-And those damn hamsters keep taunting me!!, yeah! You know what you're doin, don't give me that!"....Damn, he hadn't meant to say that out loud.... "I mean, um.. what are we talking about again? "

Taking Howard's face in his palm, Vince guided Howards brown cockeral eyes into his large concerned orbs of blue, accompanied with a soft smile that one would employ when trying to reason with a small child who was about to throw your mobile in a lake. "I'll make you a deal, love. Hows about you tell me what's goin' on, and what you need, and then I'll give them a stern talking to, a'right?"

With a tired sigh, Howard glanced from the glamsters, to Vince, glamsters to Vince, And decided to deal with the rodents later.. "Nothing...I, I don't need it anymore..."

"Howard, what's "it"? and what'dya mean "anymore" ?" 

"You're back."

"Yes, Moon, We've established that already, what I'm askin' you is-"

"You!"

"Yeah, it's me Howard, now besides sleep, what did you nee-"

"- No Vince, you're not listening!"

"I'm tryin' ya turnip, you're not makin' sense!'

Being too exhausted to continue on this endless carousel, Howard practically pounced on Vince and wound his arms round him. "You. I needed you."

**Author's Note:**

> Don't worry lovelies, this is going to be added to, and MAJORLY tweeked when I get a chance. ;)


End file.
